So (Re)Fresh and So Clean: Refreshing Content to Increase Search Rankings

Developing amazing, knock ’em out of their chairs content can easily take several hours of work. After investing all that time, why would you want to let that content go to waste over time? The smart answer: You don’t. That’s why giving your content a refresh should be a critical part of your overall content strategy.

Refreshing content can help improve search rankings, making each piece of content work harder for you and ultimately increase ROI (something we can all get behind).

How Do I Refresh Content?

From choosing which pieces of content to refresh to making updates and republishing, it can be difficult to get started. Let’s break it down.

Decide Which Content Pieces to Refresh

Take inventory of the content you’ve already developed. Not sure which pieces are working hardest for you? Now’s the time to figure that out in order to achieve maximum ROI for your content creation.

Evergreen Content. Evergreen content is content that is always relevant or interesting to readers. The core meaning behind the piece still gains traction, so a few tweaks can help freshen it up.

Follow the Numbers. It’s time to dive into those numbers. Which pieces of content consistently meet or surpass your goals? Consider content that drives traffic, increases social sharing or drives downloads. Giving these pieces a refresh can help drive even better results.

Do Keyword Research. Determine where your existing content is ranking and look for opportunities to push high-ranking content on the second page to the first page. If content is already performing well, refreshing it can give it that little extra oomph.

Update Existing Content

Next you’ll want to update the content you’ve deemed worthy of an update. Here are some common refresh opportunities to get you started:

Improve Body Copy. Changing a single sentence won’t have as big of a freshness impact as a large change to the main body text.

Update Content for Accuracy and Timeliness. Revise any outdated links and make sure your information is current. Changes in information can vary by industry.

Consider the User. Update formatting for an enhanced UX. We all know that the majority of users are on mobile, so make sure that your existing content is responsive. Ready to take it a step further? Try analyzing how people read on mobile, simplifying your language or formatting your paragraphs into chunks.

Link Building. Look for new link building opportunities to increase search rankings. Don’t be scared to reach out to other relevant blogs and ask them to feature your updated blog.

Repromote Fresh Content

Once your content has undergone a significant refresh, you’re ready to get it back out into the world. Publish the updates on your blog and make sure to repurpose on your distribution channels, like social media and email. Republishing on various platforms will not only drive new traffic to your site, but it will also let search engines know that your content has been updated.

Report and Repeat

What’s the point of updating content if you’re not tracking performance? Make sure to take note of your content performance before the refresh and also after. You can measure success using various key performance indicators. Common ones include search rank, time on page, page views, bounce rate and page value.

Think it’s time to give your content a refresh, but still need help? Contact us. We can help breathe some new life into your content strategy.

Chelsea Campbell – As a digital strategist I never stop asking why. Why are we sending this email? Why is that button there? Why are we running this soci…MORE